Tag: EP

8.25/10

It’s that time again – another record has descended upon the world from the hellish mind of Walter Gross. We’ve reviewed a couple of Walter Gross albums in the past; this particular one is, however, slightly different. Instead of a solo record this is a Youth:Kill release, the joint project between Gross and emcee K-the-I??? (known for years of affiliation with Fake Four). It can be a mixed bag of results when a noise producer teams up with a vocalist, but Walter Gross and K-the-I??? are long time fixtures in their respective facets of music. They’ve also got a history working together so if you’ve not heard it already, A Hunter’s Moon should be perking your ears up.

To find a comparison of sound that most may be familiar with, A Hunter’s Moon is reminiscent of a more raw version of earlier clipping. work. Its harsh instrumental tones are as abrasive as a Brillo pad, forcing the lyrics to pick their pockets of space carefully when attempting to navigate the fuzzy soundscape. While this may sound daunting in theory, the actual listen is immensely enjoyable. K-the-I??? brings the necessary chaotic energy required to keep up with Walter Gross’ evil production. As an emcee, K-the-I??? brought sharp lyrics which still had a distinct amount of dismay behind them. At times falling back into the production before emerging to smack the listener over the head with a rapid succession of thoughts. The vocals are also mixed in such a way that they felt as if they became a part of the noise. Coupling that up with the overall tone of the production choices created a very anxious and tense emotional experience.

Coming into this project may surprise those more familiar with Walter Gross’ solo efforts, as the production is quite a bit different. Though it has his signature crunchy noise feel, its much more stripped back to allow room for vocals. There also was a really interesting hip-hop flair to the instrumentals which maybe isn’t as prominent in some of Walter’s other work. “Kottihood” and “Guilt-Ridden Hate” in particular have a bounce to them one may not normally expect to hear in noise based music as much. Though the production was stripped back, it didn’t fall victim to becoming too simplistic. Walter Gross in all of his enigmatic glory, has also proven to be a master of restraint on this project.

The duo of remix tracks appearing at the end are also enjoyable little listens. The WG-One-Take remix of “Kottihood” stands out as having been an incredibly interesting bonus listen after the joy of the rest of A Hunter’s Moon.

The x-factor in this project is the chemistry between Walter Gross and K-the-I???. To pull off a sound as ambitiously challenging as Youth:Kill’s without it sounding forced, there has to be a good connection between the producer and emcee. This project felt entirely natural. Neither the vocals nor the instrumentation needed each other to be enjoyable, but when combined together they elevated to new heights mutually. Really, that’s the mark any collaborative project needs to try and hit. A Hunter’s Moon was an incredibly sturdy EP. If you’re a fan of either Walter or K-the-I??? it could, and should, be considered a must listen release that will fly under many listeners’ radar.

8/10

It has been an abysmal month as far as producing new content on Extraordinary Nobodies. Between everybody here drowning under a mountain of work, school, illness, life, more illness, and general procrastination, April has been… underwhelming. This review, for example, was supposed to be released nearly a month ago. Then a bunch of things happen, and instead, it is coming out now. In the middle of April. Yes.

Moving on.

Spocka Summa was introduced to us by Michael at FilthyBroke Recordings. And for that alone we have to say thank you to Michael, because holy shit, this guy is a creative force to keep an eye on. Following a conceptual theme (more on this later), The Progression 001 is an immense listen packed into a short and sweet extended play. It’s even available for free streaming on his SoundCloud. We had no idea what to expect with this record, as (unfortunately) Spocka wasn’t a household name for our writing staff yet. Now he is, and here is a little bit on why he caught our attention.

First and foremost, Spocka Summa himself on The Progression 001 is a very interesting emcee. He’s got a natural charisma about him that really helps carry his delivery. From a technical standpoint he may not be the flashiest, but his lyrics are solid (and more importantly they stick closely to the concept of the EP, big ups for that) and he has some vocal flair. His storytelling abilities far exceed that of many underground emcees. Honestly, it is hard to analyze his performance on The Progression 001 without spoiling bits and pieces of the story being created. To keep it short, sweet, and spoiler free. He did well. Very, very well.

We’re not going to quote lyrics either, because that would be spoilers. Listen to the damn EP, ya’ bums. It’s not long, and it’s worth it!

The production on this EP is really consistently sturdy. There isn’t anything overly experimental or ambitious, but the beats are very nice. The Last Child (who produced the entirety of The Progression 001) has a sound that blends eastern sounding boom-bap with the west’s lighter sounding beat scene, creating a vibe that nearly anyone could vibe with. The amount of variation in the instrumentation was actually quite surprising for such a short extended play. For example, “001” sounds like something straight from the alt-Los Angeles scene, and then “What the Hell” plays like a soundtrack to a Spiderman boss level on the PlayStation 2 (in the best way imaginable). Despite this wide range of sounds and artistic influences, the production works well together and suits the concept of the project nicely; moreover, the range of flavors help create an incredibly engaging listening environment on The Progression 001.

It’s also notable how the EP progresses sonically throughout its duration. The instrumentation (and in turn, rapping) is much lighter and happier at the beginning. By the end, it has twisted itself into a darker, heavier piece of music. This was a lovely addition to the changing mood, and really helped to drive home the storytelling. The decision to stick with one producer for every song was quite smart.

This EP is additionally coupled with a comic book released on Spocka’s website. The book is only a few pages long at the present, but is an interesting and ambitious DIY effort to extend the story in his music. Similar to much of The Progression 001, it is topically focused on breaking away from technological dependence and the dangers of placing too much trust in multiple forms of media. These concepts are presented in a very interesting futuristic dystopian setting. The visual art is not “professional” levels of perfect, but it’s relatively solid, visually appealing, and quite endearing to see someone attempting to turn their music into a comic.

Plus, if you think about it, hip-hop and comic books have been intertwined forever. From MF DOOM’s levels of comic villain nerdiness to the marvel comic hip-hop cover variants. This is a classic pairing, and Spocka Summa has continued to push that envelope forward.

Overall, The Progression 001 is a very cool EP and the prospect of it feeding into further releases in the future is quite promising. Much like Blueprint’s Vigilante Genesis extended play from last year, the short-format works marvelously for serialized stories. Taking that idea and merging it with a comic book added a little creative flair that helps set this apart from its contemporaries. The Progression 001 is well worth a listen, especially if you enjoy dystopian themed music.